The Tidbit’s Guide to Bullet Journaling

When I first heard of bullet journaling, my initial thought was, “who could possibly have time for this?” However, when I read more about it and saw how people were using it, it occurred to me that a bullet journal is simply a blank canvas helping people organize and improve their lives. The beauty of it is that it’s your blank canvas, and you can do whatever you’d like with it! That aspect, plus the fact that it’s a craft, was enough to get me on board.

Now, I’m not the best at drawing and but, I am good at making lists – for everything. With that in mind, I decided that I wanted to get a bullet journal to compose items on my mind in an organized and colorful fashion. As I do with many of my purchases, I began research on Amazon. I knew I wanted a size similar to your average book, and something that was soft-covered so that I could bend it.

After a bit of research, I found one that fit those requirements, in a color that I really liked (mint) and I found a pack of thin point pens in a variety of colors. Both items cost a total of less than $20, and I couldn’t wait to begin this new artistic journey. As a I waited for my order to arrive, I made a list (shocking, I know) of the components of what I knew I wanted to include within my journal.

First, being that I knew I wasn’t going to be creating a monthly calendar with a weekly spread, I wanted to create monthly to do lists. I used the pens to create headers to each month (each month having its own page) and decorated it to the best of my ability to match what would be happening within that month. This allowed me to add my big-picture to-dos for the year, and was a nice way to instantly de-stress.

I did this for each month, the continued on by making other lists I knew I wanted to have. These included: blog post ideas and breakdown by month, movies to watch, states to visit, travel goals, a bucket list, a list of shows to watch, books to read, and horror movies to watch (made in a cool graveyard fashion). Click the photos below to enlarge them for more detail.

The most important thing to remember with bullet journaling is that there is no right or wrong way to do it. This is something for you to use personally, and whatever style helps you to thrive is what will work best for you! When looking for inspiration, searching “bullet journal” on Pinterest and Instagram is a good first step to get some visual ideas. In addition to Amazon, Michael’s also has a plethora of tools needed to create the perfect bullet journal. Michael’s also has kits that help serve as a jumping off point, if you don’t feel like making it from scratch.